He Knows – January 12, 2024

And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love.”
Mark 1:11

He Knows

In our sinful weakness, there are times when you and I can slip into falsely accusing the God who loves us. The temptation can be strong when you and I face tragedy and grief. “God doesn’t know. God doesn’t understand. God has no idea how it feels to carry such difficulty, pain, and loss. And so, why should I listen to what he says? Why should I pay attention to his nice words? He doesn’t get it anyway.”

When such thinking creeps into my mind, I need to stop. First, I need to remember that God the Son not only knows all about real life in this fallen world; he has fully experienced the very worst that this world can dish out. He knows pain, grief, and loss.

God the Father understands, too. At Jesus’ baptism, God the Father spoke up. He spoke up because he had something to say—something he wanted you and me to know. In that moment, God the Father said to Jesus, “You are my Son, whom I love.”

“You are my Son, whom I love.” These are not words of some abstract theological concept. This is a Father speaking to his Son. This is a Father telling his Son that he loves him. It is this same Father who watched his Son sacrifice himself on a cross for the sins of the world. God the Father endured this loss because of his love for you and me. As Jesus himself says, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.”

And so God loves us beyond what we can grasp. And he also understands.

Prayer:
Lord God, I sometimes forget that you understand the pain that sin and death can bring. Forgive my false presumptions. And thank you for your love for me. Amen.